Toronto Maple Leafs' Jonathan Bernier holding edge in goalie battle with James Reimer … for now

TORONTO — An awkward conversation unfolded in the far corner of the dressing room, with a man still half in his equipment, drenched in sweat. He was still in his skates, and he was still in his goaltending pads, the ones with “Reims” stenciled into the side.

It had been a week — or two-and-a-half games — since James Reimer was asked to play in goal for the Toronto Maple Leafs. And with the way Jonathan Bernier was playing, it seemed like some time would pass before someone asked him to play again.

So, um, how was it going?

“He’s hot right now, and that’s how it goes,” Reimer said. “Goalies get hot, and you’ve just got to hang in there.”

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Bernier has stopped 113 of the 116 shots he has faced in his four appearances in goal this month. The 25-year-old is poised to make his third straight on Saturday, which would be the longest run of consecutive starts in his National Hockey League career.

The goaltending question has been hanging over the franchise since it acquired Bernier in a deal with the Los Angeles Kings over the summer. Bernier entered the season with less playing experience than Reimer — having been stuck behind Jonathan Quick in Southern California — but he has already done his best to answer that goaltending question.

He appeared in relief of Reimer against Ottawa on Oct. 5, and stopped all 15 shots faced over the final 34 minutes of play to help rally the Leafs to a shootout win. He was beaten twice in a loss to Colorado, but played well enough to start again Thursday in Nashville, where he stopped 36 shots to earn his first shutout in a Toronto uniform.

Leafs coach Randy Carlyle was sharp with reporters after the game when asked if he had settled on Bernier as his No. 1 goaltender. He was less pointed when asked again Friday, but only slightly less.

“I always let you guys make those assessments,” Carlyle told a crowd of reporters after practice. “Because you’re so good at it. You guys are great, you know? You guys are so good at anointing who’s No. 1 and who’s No. 2 and who’s No. 3. So I don’t even have to do it. You guys do it for me.”

Carlyle has a varied history in dealing with goaltending tandems. Dating back to his early days behind the bench in the now-defunct International Hockey League, he has gone full seasons with one clearly defined starter, but has also divided playing time right down the middle.

Jean-Sébastien Giguère averaged 58 appearances a season over Carlyle’s first three years as coach with the Anaheim Ducks, with Ilya Bryzgalov, and then Jonas Hiller, averaging 27 appearances in goal. In the 2008-09 season, though, Giguère and Hiller each appeared 46 times, right down the middle.

“The way you treat that position is that you’ve got to feel strong that the guy’s going to give you the best chance,” Carlyle said on Friday. “When I’ve said ‘you win, you’re in,’ that’s true to a point.”

That point? Bernier lost to Colorado, but still stopped 31 of 33 shots in defeat. Carlyle gave him another chance, in Nashville.

“The bottom line is, we’re going to try to put the person in the net — or the centre who plays on the (top) line, or the winger — in the best position, that’s going to give us the best opportunity for success,” Carlyle said. “Goaltending has a huge exclamation point on it because it’s the last line of defence.”

It’s still a long season, but I definitely feel pretty good right now

Carlyle said Bernier has seemed calm in net. A former first-round draft pick (11th overall, in 2006), he has also been mechanically sound, with a quick glove hand and an ability to exert control over rebounds.

Also: He has a save-percentage of .974.

“Right now, he’s on a little bit of a roll,” Carlyle said.

“It’s still a long season,” Bernier said, “but I definitely feel pretty good right now.”

That leaves the man in the corner. Reimer, the incumbent starter, even-tempered as usual on Friday, was asked whether he felt like he was waiting for Bernier to make a mistake to re-open a window, to prompt someone to ask him to play again.

“You never want to beat someone out because of an injury or because they made a mistake,” Reimer said. “You want to be better than them, you know what I mean? You want it to be a fair battle — you both go out there, and one guy edges the other guy out.”